A Lagos resident identified as Clement Oku has expressed frustration over his inability to recover N310,000 allegedly withdrawn from his bank account without his authorisation more than two years ago.
Oku said he is gradually losing hope of getting the money back despite repeatedly visiting the bank and making several complaints over the disputed transaction.
According to him, he only discovered that funds had allegedly disappeared from his account when he visited a branch of Guaranty Trust Bank in Alausa, Lagos State, in February 2024 to make a withdrawal.
Describing the experience, Oku said he was shocked to learn that multiple online transactions linked to a company identified as CONTEC Global had been processed from his account without his knowledge.
“I knew nothing about the transaction. I did not even get a notification for the said transaction but somehow, N310,000 went out of my account on February 20, 2024, without my authorisation,” he reportedly said.
He explained that when he requested his account statement at the bank, the disputed transaction was not yet reflected because the money had allegedly not been fully disbursed to the recipient at the time.
According to Oku, a staff member informed him that the funds would likely be released to the recipient after some days, but despite the early complaint, the bank allegedly failed to stop the transaction from going through.
Oku further stated that a bank official gave him the contact details of his account officer, who initially promised assistance but later stopped responding to calls and messages.
“At 2:50 p.m. on February 20, I received debit alerts totalling N300,000. How did the scammers take my money despite the bank being aware of the situation?” he asked.
He also maintained that nobody else had access to his ATM card and that he did not attempt any online purchase linked to the transactions.
“When questioned by bank staff, I affirmed that no one else had access to my ATM card and I had not attempted to make any online purchases. So, why did GTBank treat my complaints with such levity?” he added.
According to reports, FIJ contacted GTBank via email for comments regarding the matter, but there was reportedly no official response from the bank as of the time of filing the report.
The incident has again raised concerns among customers over electronic fraud, unauthorised transactions, and the response of financial institutions to disputed banking complaints in Nigeria.
